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June 17, 2010

Jean-Jacques Dordain To Continue As Director General Of ESA

by Sam Savage

The Council of the European Space Agency today announced that Jean-Jacques Dordain will continue as the Director General of ESA for a further period of four years. Mr Dordain has served as Director General of ESA since 2003. This third mandate extends his term to June 2015.

Mr Dordain's tenure at ESA includes many important European space milestones. At the end of 2003 he signed the first Framework Agreement between ESA and the European Community, starting a new relationship that continues to build.

The first ESA/EU Space Council took place at the end of 2004, while in January 2005 he witnessed the historic landing of ESA's Huygens probe on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The launch of Europe's Venus Express probe followed in November, as ESA expanded with the accession of Greece and Luxemburg.

A remarkable ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level took place in December 2005 in Berlin, when Ministers in charge of Europe's space activities decided to launch important new programs such as the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative, which has become the EU's second space flagship. The GIOVE-A first test satellite of the first flagship, the Galileo satellite navigation system, was launched a few weeks later.

In July 2006, ESA's Council renewed Mr Dordain's mandate to 1 July 2011. In May 2007 the fourth ESA/EU Space Council adopted a European Space Policy, creating a common political framework for space activities within the EU, ESA and its Member States.

At the end of 2007, Europe's Transport Ministers reached an agreement on the procurement, structure and governance of the full Galileo program.

Early 2008 saw the launch of ESA's Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station, with two ESA astronauts, and the launch of Europe's first fully automated resupply vehicle, Jules Verne, to the Station.

An agreement on GMES between the EC and ESA was approved in February, while the second test satellite of the Galileo system was launched in April. In November 2008, the ESA Council at Ministerial level funded new and continuing programs at almost &eur;10 billion, including a significant increase of the Space Science budget.

In 2009, after the launch of the first Earth Explorer mission, GOCE, in March, Mr Dordain selected six new European astronauts. Two current ESA astronauts reached the International Space Station in May and August. European science scored another goal with the joint launch of Herschel and Planck on an Ariane 5 vehicle in May.

The Czech Republic became the 18th ESA Member State in November 2009. In the same month, SMOS was launched to study soil moisture and ocean salinity. At the end of the year, the ExoMars program was adopted within a long-term cooperation agreement with NASA on the robotic exploration of the Red Planet.

Recent years have also seen important Private Public Partnerships, such as the Hylas satellite with Avanti (GB), Alphasat with Inmarsat (GB) and the Small Geo initiative with Hispasat (ES).

The first half of 2010 has also been marked by important events, including the cooperation agreement with Slovenia, the launch of CryoSat to monitor ice thickness, and the start of a 520-day simulated mission to Mars. The crew of six consists of two Europeans, three Russians and one Chinese.

This period has also seen a steady increase in international cooperation, including NASA (Mars robotic exploration), Russia (Soyuz, to be launched soon from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana), Japan (missions such as BepiColombo to Mercury and EarthCARE), China (a framework agreement and cooperation in the Chang'E mission to the Moon) and India (contribution to the Chadrayaan lunar mission).

In 1977 he was selected by the French space agency, CNES, as one of the first French astronaut candidates.

When he joined ESA in May 1986, he was appointed Head of the new Space Station and Platforms Promotion and Utilization Department. He then became Head of the Microgravity and Columbus Utilization Department, managing about 80 staff and overseeing numerous industrial activities.

In 1993 he was appointed Associate Director for Strategy, Planning and International Policy. In May 1999 he was appointed Director of the new Directorate of Strategy and Technical Assessment. On 15 February 2001 he took up the post of Director of Launchers.